LEGO has been the basis for many great videogames — including LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Star Wars II, LEGO Indiana Jones, and LEGO Batman — and they also served as an influence for Seabury and his team. “We wanted to make sure that LEGO Universe felt familiar to anyone who had played the other LEGO titles,” he explains. “There were many great innovations in them that we wanted to further in our quest for the ultimate creative play experience — for example, how the mini-figures were brought to life in animations, and the concept of building something quickly out of a pile of LEGO bricks. The guys at TT Games have also been great to talk to and very open in sharing what they’ve learned over the years.”

In the process, Seabury notes, he learned some things too: “The first generation of LEGO games, I think, tried too hard to literally recreate the physical LEGO play experience on a computer screen. We also felt the crossover IP [intellectual property, such as Star Wars] games success demonstrated that heroic mini-figures really captured a dimension of LEGO play we had not seen prior. Those two conclusions led us to blend creativity and heroic adventure in a unique way in LEGO Universe, to capture the spirit of LEGO play in a new experience.”

As development progressed, Seabury recalls that he and his team dug even deeper into the past: “Certainly there’s a lot of nostalgia on the team for playing with LEGO bricks in our pasts. However, most of what has ended up in the game is a direct result of testing, to see what players think are the coolest concepts.

“Having said that, we’ve definitely gotten in touch with our ‘inner children,’ to tap into the essence of what made LEGO cool for us as kids, and capture the spirit of LEGO play rather than a literal interpretation of physical play. I think this really comes through in the blend of using your imagination on your property worlds and bringing your creations to life in your own way.”

Learned Behaviors

While on your property, put on your thinking hat and click the Behaviors button at the bottom of the screen (or press the number two on your keyboard). Your cursor will change to the Behaviors icon; click an object to begin creating behaviors for it. Click the pencil above the plus sign to add a new behavior, or click the pencil above one of the existing behaviors to edit it. You’ll also notice that you can choose between basic movement and wobbly ground movement; the latter causes the object to always bounce around.

After you click a pencil, you’ll see the editing screen. Drag behaviors to it to create a chain of actions. For example, when an object is attacked, you can direct it to move back and crumble into pieces; after a few seconds, it can reassemble. Behaviors that can be edited have small fields in their buttons; click in the field to change a numerical value or select an option, such as a range of noises. Click the checkmark directly above the editing box to give the behavior a name. Click the other checkmark to save it.

What we’ve just described is a basic behavior that you’ll be able to create not long after you begin exploring LEGO Universe. You’ll notice many empty spaces where more behavior options can be added. As you play the game, you’ll collect new behaviors that let you further customize how you and other players interact with objects in your property.

• You’ll find your current missions at the top of the screen; click the arrow keys to move through them. If you need a reminder for any mission, click it and its description will appear.
• When you complete a mission and you’re looking for the right character to speak with, keep an eye out for the treasure chest hovering above their head, if a prize is involved. Otherwise, the character you need will have a question mark pointing to them — an exclamation mark means they have a mission to give you. A grayed-out exclamation or question mark indicates a character you’ve interacted with already.
• To check out what lies in the distance, interact with the binoculars you’ll come across occasionally. They’ll show you some interesting sights.
• As in many other LEGO games, there are lots of things in the environment you can destroy for rewards. In LEGO Universe, those include much-needed health, armor, and imagination points (you need the latter to build and power objects) as well as bricks you can use at your property. You’ll also find the tokens you need to buy new stuff. Objects reappear within 30 seconds or so of their destruction, so you can keep smashing them and getting rewards.
• If your character falls to pieces and needs to be rebuilt, note that you’ll lose imagination and armor points, along with some tokens, in the process. Make sure you replenish your imagination and armor before you move on.
• Previous LEGO games have featured a variety of secrets, and LEGO Universe is no different. Explore every nook and cranny you come across, and speak to every NPC you find. Don’t forget to build up your friends list, so you can share your insights with them; they’ll almost certainly reciprocate.

• The game’s four factions roughly equate with the character classes you find in other MMORPGs: the Sentinels are battle-hardened warriors; Paradox is full of outcasts who are able to wield the Maelstrom’s magical powers against it; the Assemblers build mechanisms and creatures that help other players, making them similar to healers and other support roles; and the Venture League’s roster is stuffed with players who enjoy sneaking around to find puzzles and hidden treasures, much like thieves or rogues.

  Each faction also offers specialization — for example, Venture League characters can be swashbuckling buccaneers or thrill-seeking daredevils.